Space the New Frontier 1962

8/9/2019 Space the New Frontier 1962

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{ N A S A - T W - 5 5 5 T T J S P A C E ; T H E N E W F R O N T I E R( N d t i o n a l Aeronautics and SpaceAdministration) 5 2 p N84-75119Dnclas00/12 21252

AT H E N E W F R O N T I E R

N A T I O N A L A E R O N A U T I C S A N D SP A C E A D M I N I S T R A T I O N


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lododay, as the result of both Executive and C ongressional action and the enthusiastic re -sponse of the American people^ we are on our way toward th e realization of this ne w national goalof a round trip to the moon before the end of the 1960's. This goal is by no means the ultimateobjective of our space efforts. That objective, as the President has made clear, is nothing less thanover-all leadership, across-the-board, in the exploration of space and its utilization fo r peacefulpurposes."It is a task which we now have every reason to believe can be undertaken successfully beforethis decade is out if we are willing to marshal ou r scientific and technological resources in a greatnational effort.

"Science and technology are rightly regarded by the world's peoples today as the keys toeconomic progress and military strength. At this t ime in history, space exploration dramatizes, moreeffectively than anything else can do, the forward march of science and technology. In the minds ofmillions, space achievements have become today's symbol of tomorrow's scientific and technicalsupremacy."Having set for ourselves this goal, the indirect benefits to the Am erican people, I am con-vinced, will be enormous. M any of these are not predictable at this time and their worth cannot becalculated, bu t some are clearly foreseeable. T he goal of commencing manned exploration of themoon before the end of this decade will cause us to accelerate to the maximum pace our entireresearch and development effort in space technology. C alling, as it does, on the most diverse re-sources in our economy, it is bound to result in a great variety of new consumer goods and industrialprocesses that will raise ou r standard of living and return tremendous benefits to us in almost everyaspect of our national life."

Jamas E. Webb, NASA Admnistrator


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table of contents

SPACE AND YOUTHE HISTORY OF SPACE'PLIGHTTHE SOLARSPACE PROBES AND SATELLITESGENERAL PRINCIPLESUNMANNED SATELLITES AND SOUNDING ROCKETSUNMANNED LUNAR AND INTERPLANETARY SPACECRAFTMANNED SPACE EXPLORATION

PROJECTS MERcuRirPROJECT APOLLOX-15 AND DYNA SOAR

THE SPACE LAUNCH VEHICLES -THE BIOLOGY OF'Sp'ACi;; ; ' : ; . ; '.SPACE EXPI_ORATION--THETECHNIQUES : ' . ROCKETpROPeu.Ait'iri! ; r ' - ' ; ; : ' : ' - ' : , ' \ ^

GUIDANCE INSPACECOMMUNICATIONSTRACKING

GLOSSARY O F SPACE TERMi','; " ''

Inside Front Covr Statement of President John P.KennedyPage1 Statement of James E.Webb, NASAAdmnistrator

Inside Back Cover Statement of Hugh l_.Dryden,DeputyAdmnistrator,NASA


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THE NATIONAL AERONAUTICSAND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

In the s u m m e r of 1958, Congress passed an act creating th e N ational A eronautics and SpaceAdministration. The act declared "that it is the policy of the United States that activities inspace should be devoted to peaceful purposes for the benefit of mankind." On October 1, 1958this new agency w as established.C ongress provided that aeronau tical and space activities sponsored by the U nited Statesshall be directed by this civilian agency, "except for activities pecu liar to or prim arily associatedwith the development of weapons, military operations, or the defense of the United States."The ac t further states: T he aeronautical and space activities shall be conducted so as to con-tribute m aterially to one or more of the following objectives:T he expansion of hum an kn o wledge of phen o men a in the atmosphere and space;Th e imp rovem ent of the usefulness, performance , speed, safety, and efficiency ofaeronautical and space vehicles;The development and operation of vehicles capable of carrying instruments, equip-ment, supplies, and living organisms through space;The establishment of longe-range studies of the potential benefits to be gained from,the opportunities for, and the problems involved in the utilization of aeronautical andspace activities for peaceful and scientific purposes;The preservation of the role of the United States as a leader in aeronautical and spacescience and technology and in the application thereof to the conduct of peacefulactivities with in and outside the atmosp here ;The making available to agencies directly concerned with national defense ofdis-coveries that have military value or significance, and the f urnish ing by such agencies,to the civilian agency established to direct and control non-military and space activi-ties, of information as to discoveries which have value or significance to that agency;Cooperation by the United States with other nations and groups of nations in wo rkdone purs uant to this A ct and in the peac eful application of the results thereof; andT he most effective utilization of the scientific and engineering resources of the UnitedStates, with close cooperation among all interested agencies of the United States inorder to avoid unnecessary duplication of effort, facilities, and equipment.


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WHAT IS SPACE?Space ha s been defined as that part of the universe betweenand possibly beyondcelestial bodies. I t may be infinite an d limitless.Man's knowledge is not yet comprehensive enough to tell him if thereare boundaries.As far as man on Ear th is concerned, space begins at the highborder of the Earth's atmosphere and extends to infinity. The a tmo s phereof th e Earth is divided into layers. The lowest layer is the troposphere.T he highest layer is the stratosphere. W here th e stratosphere fades intonothingnessthere space begins.Space is populated by stars and p lanets, by asteroids, m eteoroids,comets and satellites. For the past billions of years, pe rhaps, th esesatellites have been, as far as we know, th e creations of celestial nature.Lately, very lately in the cosmic time span, man has added satellitesof his own making.N atural celestial bodies in space range in size from microscopicup to colossal. Th ey num ber in billions times billions.

Space, man believes, is airless except as some planets may createtheir ow n atmospheres . I t may contain life as w e know it or it may con-tain life that is strange an d un kn o wn to Ear th . I t may contain no life.Space is as cold as absolute zero on some of its frozen bodies andas hot as 50 million degrees Fahrenheit on others.For as long as he has h ad the intelligence to realize space exists,man has dreamed of escaping th e layers of atmo s phere w hich s u r ro un dhi s planet and of exploring th e vastnesses of the universe whichlie beyond.

SEARCHING OUT THE UNKNOWNM an's curiosity h as always driven him to search out the unknownand has led him to devise the means of exploring it. As man achievedthe technological advances which permitted him to reach space it wasinconceivable that he should not ex plore it. As it was impossible in1492 to forecast th e benefits of the voyages of Columbus, so it is impos-sible now to foretell wh at ma n will gain from th e exploration of space.It is, however, safe to predict that in the long run the most importantand valuable return from space exploration will be the vast addition toman's store of knowledge about the universe in which he lives.M an will establish p erm anent stations in space laboratories,observatories, experimental testing platforms and way stations. He willvisit the M oon, Ve nus and Mars . He will send probes to more distantplanets an d even the far distant stars. H e will probably discover thatlife exists in space. He may communicate with other beings in space.Regardless of what form his exploration takes or what other results hema y achieveman's greatest benefits will still be the knowledge hebrings back for the benefit of man kin d .M an's ach ievem ents in space since the first satellites were launchedonly a few short years ago have been tremendous, but they pale to


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feeble ventures in contemplation of future space explorations. O nlyin the light of what man has already done could he possibly look aheadwith the almost certain knowledge that many of the projects he nowlooks forward to will be realized.M an dreams of visiting or at least taking a look at the other planetsin our solar system. He casts an eye at the other stars of our galaxy, th eMilky Way.

BY STEP INTO SPACEAmong the nine planets which revolve about our Sun, Earth ranksonly fifth in size. P luto, a "neighbor" in our solar system, is more t han3 ', 2 billion miles distant and yet it, like the Ear th , is held in its orbitby the mas sive grav itational attraction of the Sun,and the Sun is onehundred times as massive as the largest planet in its family of nine.Yet , this Sun itself is only a minor star. Its nearest neighboring staris so far away that even billions of miles are too puny a measure ofdistance. W e must use instead the light year, the distance travelled inone year at the speed of l ight . Light t ravels 186,300 miles pe r second,making on e l ight year about six tr i l l ion miles. Proxima C entauri, thestar nearest our Sun is 4'/i light years distance. Th e farthest galaxy mancan see through hi s biggest telescope is two billion light years distant.Both P roxima C entauri and our Sun are stel lar members of thegalaxy we call the M i l k y W ay, a group ing of an est imated 200 bil l ionstars so immense it would take 100 thousand years at the speed of lightto traverse its length. And, this galaxy is only one of several billionwith in the range of the world's largest telescope.Viewed in man's terms of time and distance, the challenge of spaceexploration might seem insuperable . Yet one has only to review th etechnological accomplishments of mank ind in the 20th century and the"impossible" becomes merely "difficult."Space does not submit readily to conquest. T he exploration ofspace is following the pattern by which man mastered flight within theatmosphere , each new development providing a platform from whichto take the nex t step and each step an incre ment of scientific knowledgeand tech nological skill.The first goal, of course, is the exploration of our own solar system.This in itself is an assignment of awesome dimensions, but one whichfe w in a position to evalua te doub t can be accomplished. T h e r e are noplans, at the present, for exploration beyond our solar system onlydreams. But , who would say these dreams will no t some day be realized.THE EXPLORATION OF SPACE AND YOUThe exploration of space affects your life today; it will continue toaffect your life more an d more.M an's activit ies in space affect your thinking, your reading, yourconversation and many facets of your everyday life.

Space exploration is an issue in national and world politics. Our

government ha s spent billions on research, development, testing andproduction in the space field. Thousands of scientists, engineers andother technicians are engaged in space activities.Space exploration h as altered th e trend of science. If you are astudent at any level, space is probably affecting your studies. Before longit ma y alter your entire course of education.Whate ve r age you may be it is probable that you come into almostdaily contact with some product or by-product which is the result ofspace research.space and weather

Satellites e quipped w ith television cameras and infrared sensors aremaking possible observations over areas not previously covered. They arealso providing types of meteorological me asureme nts which could not beobtained with other facilities. T he reduction and analysis of these in-creased data, partic ularly from areas otherwise lacking observation, will

Information from mosaic of TIROS(Meteoroogical Satellite) cloud pic-tures (top) Is overlaid on map (cen-ter) and reduced to operationalweather data (bottom) for incorpora-tion in Weather Bureau analyses andforecasts.

T I R O S MM A N A LY S IS01111 70S I I M O T I

20 / 0 110 Z M A Y


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lead to better short-range forecasts, and may eventually perm it improvedlong-range weather predictions.W ith long-range prediction of rainfall or drought, communitiescould better prepare for control of their water-sheds. Satellite observa-tions m ay be expe cted to assist in providing war nings of tornadoes,floods, blizzards, hurricanes, and other catastrophic weather, enablingpeople to strengthen levees, take shelter, an d make other preparations tominimize loss. W eather-s ensitive industries such as shipping, airlines,agriculture, and construction would gain enormously by improvedweather forecasts that satellites can make possible. Increased meteoro-logical knowledge attained by study of satellite data may eventuallyenable man to modify weather to his advantage.navigationby satellite

It is estimated there are 20 thousand surface craft at all times onthe A tlantic Ocean alone. Hundreds of aircraft crowd the skies overmuch of the world. A ccurate information as to his exact location hasbecome a necessity to the navigator of every sea or air craft.

Satellites can provde a reliable nav-gation system, useful by day or nightIn any weather.

By using time signals and a radar locating phenomenon known asth e Doppler Shif t ,* air and sea craft ca n receive information fromnavigational satellites which will pinpoint their location any time ofday or night and in all kinds of weather.communication viasatellite

Sighted by millions as bright as a star moving across the eveningsky, the Echo I satellite dramatized for the world a new era in globalcommunications. Echo I, in conjunction with other experiments, provedthat man-made satellites can be employed for voice, record, and picturecommunication on a world-wide scale.C ommunications satellite systems offer a means for global televi-sion and for other types of transoceanic communication not now pos-sible. In addition, the com munications indus try appears unanim ous in itsagreement that increased future demands for transoceanic telephoneand telegraph services can be supplied at less cost by satellite systemsthan by laying new submarine cables.Several types of communications satellite systems are being studied.O ne would be made up of h uge aluminize d plastic spheres substantiallylarger than the 100-foot diameter Echo I. These are called passive satel-lites because telephone and other messages are sent by bouncing radiowaves from the satellites' re flective surfaces, much as a ball is bounced

* T h e Doppler principle was set forth in 1842 by C hristian JohannDoppler of Prague. He discovered tha t if the distance is changingbetween an observer and a source of constant vibration, th e wave num-be r appears to become greater than th e true values if the distancebetween th e observer and the source is being diminishedand appearsto be less as this distance becomes greater. This is true of such constantvibrations as sound or light. T he Doppler principle is applied to electro-magnetic radiation in connection with radio and radar equipment todetermine the speed and distance of moving objects in the air or inspace. A s measured from a ground station electromagnetic signalschange frequency as the satellite from which they ar e sent, approachesan d passes over a ground station. (This is know n as the Doppler Shift . )By measurement of this shift, th e future orbit of the satellite can beaccurately predicted for as long as several days ahead. In the satellitenavigation system, this Doppler Shift can be checked automatically bya ground station against a time an d frequency standard. This informa-tion is teletyped to a computing center where th e satellite's position isaccurately computed. Since th e Doppler Shi f t is a direct measure of therate of change of distance when th e transmitter and the receiver are ata known location on the ground, future positions of the satellite can be

} calculated. (Thesatellite's orbit is governed by astronomical laws.)The navigator either in the air or at sea receives this data from theground station. Thus knowing th e satellite's positions at future times, th enavigator can combine this information with other signals received fromthe satellite to determine his own position on the surface of the Earth.


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Active-Repeater Satellite Systems -MediumAltitude (top),Synchronous Orbit (right).Bright as a star moving across the eveningsky, Echo I tested feasibility communica-tions satellites

off a wall. Passive satellites re quire no complicated instrumentation.Another system would employ "active-repeater" satellites. Suchsatellites are equipped with radio receivers and trans mitte rs and otherinstruments to receive, store, amplify, and retransmit messages. Theyserve in effect as microwave towers in the sky.Expe r im e ntal programs ar e underway to test "active-repeater" satel-lites in medium-altitude (about 5,000 miles above the Earth ) orbits andin high-altitude "synchronous" orbits (approximately 22,300miles abovethe equator) . "Synchronous" satellites orbit the Earth in the same lengthof time as the Earth takes for one full rotation on its axis (24 hours).Thus, each satellite is fixed over one spot on Earth, l ike th e relation ofa point on a wheel rim to the nearest point on the hub. To an observeron Earth, the satellite would app ear to stand still.Eventually, operational communications satellite systems will bedeveloped which incorporate the most advantageous features of the ex-perimental programs. Such systems would make world-wide televisionbroadcasts a reality and relieve the anticipated future overload on globalcommunications facilities.


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Model of the orbiting astro-nomical observatory (OAO).

Th e first unmanned Mercury Spacecraft to orbit the Earth photographedthe west African coast.

astronomca observations by satelliteAstronomers have always been hindered in their observations bythe Earth 's atmosphere which, like a veil, distorts or blots out electro-magnetic radiation from space. O rbit ing astronomical observatories willenable man to see the universe from a vantage point above the haze ofthe atmosphere .From such observatories, man will be able to acquire new inform a-tion about the nature and origin of our solar system. He will be able toview in detail th e physical features of the Moon, th e canals of M a r s , an d

th e day-to-day behavior of the Sun. M an will also be able to gathe r ne wdata about distant galaxies. Perhaps, m an would even learn about th eexistence of other solar systems such as ours and about other planetswhich resemble E a r t h .geodesy and space

Satellites are aiding in determining exact distances and preciseshapes of land and sea areas on Earth. Such information will advanceth e preparation of accurate global maps.medcne,malandmealsT he study of aerospace medicine promises benefits for mankind inth e treatment of heart and blood illnesses. S ignificant studies have beenmade on hum an behavior and performance under conditions of greatstress, emotion and fatigue. Discoveries have been made as to w hat typeof man can best endure long periods of isolation and removal from hi sordinary environment. A derivative of hydrazine (isoniazid), developedas a liquid space propellant, h as been found to be useful in treatingtuberculosis and certain mental illnesses. And the space industry isproducing such reliable and accurate miniature partssuch as valvesthat they ma y someday be used to replace worn ou t hum an organs.

Mai l is already being carried by rockets on a regu lar experimentalbasis from C uxh aven, Germ any, to Balt ic Sea islands. A lthough theserockets do not actu ally leave the atmosp here, it is expected th at in thenot too far distant fu ture intercontinenta l postal rockets t ravell ing inand out of space w i l l permit letters to be sent and answers receivedon the same day.Scientists and dieticians are wo rking directly on the problem ofspace feeding and nutri t io n. The information gained from this researchcan have a profound influence on fu ture food and ag ricultural processes.This involves the grow th of synthe tic and new foods, and the processof compressing large numbers of calories into pill size packages. Itinvolves also new methods of food growth and storage.

NEEDED: SPACE SCHOLARSNo enterprise in history has so st irred the hu man ima gination asthe reach ing of man into space.New knowledge to cope with this new science is needed in almostevery branch of technology. This need encompasses the basic sciences ofphysics, chemistry, engineer ing and m athe matics . It also includes biology,psychology and almost every field of medicine.M a n y colleges an d univers ities have been se t t ing up courses dealingwith astronautics. From th e degree of interest show n by high schoolstudents an d teachers it seems certain that m an y of the studies relat ingto space w i l l be incorporated into th e high school cu r r i cu l u m .


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ckapier HTHE HISTORY OF SPACE FLIGHT

Illustration from first edition "o f Ju les Verne's From theEarth to the Moon, published in 1865. Space ship pas -sengers ar e enjoy ing weight lessness.

The beginnings of though t about space flight were a mixtu re ofimagination an d vague concepts. T he idea of leaving Earth to travelto a distant world developed only as unde r s tanding of the universe andth e Solar System evolved.In 160 B.C. a part of C icero's Republic , enti t led "SomniumScipionis" (Scipio's Dream), presented a conception of the whole uni-verse, a realization of the comp arative ins ignificanc e of E arth and thevisualization of a vast panorama in which appear "stars w hic h w e ne ve rsee from Earth . " Lucian of Greece wrote his Vera Historia in 160 A.D.,the story of a f l i g h t to the Moon. For centuries no further stories ofspace travel appeared. Only with the renaissance of science and thework of such men as Tycho Brahe, Copernicus, Kepler , Newton andGalileo did men's m inds again become rece ptive to the poss ibility oftravelling to other worlds.In rapid succession, such writers as C yrano de Bergerac, Voltaire ,Dumas, Jules Verne, Edgar Allan Poe, H. G. W ells an d many otherlesser known authors filled the pages of l i terature with imaginativ e talesof space travel.Today one has only to go to the closest magazine stand or bookstore to find similar stories. Dram atizations h ave appeared on themotion picture screen, radio, television and the legitimate stage.The history of rocket development is interwoven with evolving ideasof the universe and space travel, because only with the rocket principleis travel in space possible.W hen the first rocket was fashioned remains a secret of the past ,but there is no doubt that the earliest known direct ancestor of ourpresent day rockets was a Chinese invention. In 1232 A.D ., at Kai-fung-fu the C hinese repelled attacking Mongols with the aid of "arrowsof flying fire." This was the first recorded use of rockets. These earlyrockets reached E urope by 125 8. Th ey are mentioned in several 13thand 14th cen tury chronicles. In 1379 a lucky hit by a crude powderrocket destroyed a de fen ding tower in the Battle for the Isle of C hiozza.Th i s wa s dur ing th e third an d last Venetian-Genovese war of the 14thC entury. The G enovese fleet sai led up the A driatic , laid siege to andtook Chiozza, al though later losing the war when the Venetians bott ledup the fleet in the Chiozza estuary.T he early 19th century brought a period of intense interest in themilitary rocket. G reat Britain's Sir Wil l ia m Congreve was the foremostname in rocketry at that time. He developed a solid propellant rocketwhich wa s used extensively in the Napole onic W ars and the W ar of1812. One of the more spectacular of the Congreve rocket achieve mentswas the razing of the greater pa rt of Cop enhag en in 1807.As so often happens with art icles designed for war use , th e Con-greve rocket was adapted to huma ni ta r ia n purposes. The most usefuloutgrowth was a l i f e saving rocket first patented in Britain in 1838. Thisdevice ( us ing a Congreve rocket) carried a line from shore to a stranded


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vessel, enab ling the distressed crew to be pulled back to shore on abreeches-buoy. This rocket w as subsequently used by coastal rescue units .Congreve developed th e black powder rocket to jus t about itsm ax i m u m capability. A l m o s t a century passed before rocketry advanced.In 1903 a Russian school teacher , Konstantin Ziolkovsky, publ i she d th efirst treatise on space t ravel advocating the use of liquid fuel rockets.Th i s pape r r e m aine d u n k n o wn outside Russia, and at t hat t ime littleattention was given i t by other Russians.

W h i l e th e theories of Ziolkovsky remained in obsc ur i ty , He rm annObe r th , a Rum anian-Ge rm an, and Robe r t H. Goddard , an A m e r ic an ,working separately, laid the basis for the age of modern rocketry. Pro-

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Or. Goddardwithone of his rockets at his Roswell, New Mexicoshop,1935.March 16, 1926a momentous day for rocket flight. Dr. Robert H.God-dard, American rocket pioneer, launched first liqudfuel rocket at Auburn,Massachusetts. Dr. Goddard stands beside rocket.fessor Oberth provided th e c h ie f im pe tus fo r expe rimental rocket workin Ge rm any w he n , in 1923,he published his book, "The Rocket intoInterplanetary Space." Professor Oberth discussed many of the problemsstill faced by present day rocket s cientists and expla ined the theorie san d m athe m at ic s involve d in lifting an object from th e sur fac e of theE arth and s ending it to another w orld. The inspiration for the forma tionof the Germa n Society for Space Travel (Verein fur Ra ums chiff ahrt)came from Hermann Oberth 's book. Both Oberth and Goddard favore dth e liquid fuel rocket. Muc h of the rocket work done in G e r m a n y wa sbased upon th e research and some of the patents of Dr. Goddard.D r. Goddard, a professor at Clark Unive r s i ty in M assachusetts,sent a f inished copy of a 69-page, manuscript to the S mithsonian Inst i tu-tion in 1919as a report on the inve stigations and calculations that hadoccupied him for several years. This paper enti t led, "A M ethod of Reach-ing Extreme Alt i tudes", caught the at tention of the press because of asmall parag raph on the possibility of shooting a rocket to the moon andexploding a load of powder on its surface.Alm ost simultaneous ly with the pu blication of this paper , Dr. God-dard concluded that a liquid fuel rocket wou ld overcome som e of thedifficulties encountered with th e pellets of powder he had used to powerhi s rockets. For the ne xt six years, D r. Goddard worked to perfect hi sideas. By 1926he was ready for an actual test flight. On M arc h 16 ofthat year the world's first liquid fuel rocket was launched. The fl ight ,while not spectacular in distance covered (184 feet), did prove thistype of rocket would perform as Dr. Goddard had expected.Public reaction to the increasing noise and size of Dr. Goddard'srockets forced him to leave C lark U niversi ty for the southwestern


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United States where he could continue his work in more open spaceswithout endangering h is neighbors. Through continual improvem ent,his rockets reached 7,500 feet by 1935 and speeds of over 700 milesper hour.By th e late 1930's D r. Goddard w as recognized, at least in pro-fessional circles, as probably the world's foremost rocket scientist. Hiswork and patents were well known for years to the German Society forSpace Travel. M e m b e r s of this society developed th e Ge rm an V- 2guided missi le used during World W ar I I .American rocket enthusiasts formed the American InterplanetarySociety in 1930, later changing their name to the A merican RocketSociety. The test f i r ings and meetings of this group st imulated a grow-ing awarenes s of rocketry and its capab ilities in the A merican p ublic.M a n y members of this early society are responsible for current spaceprograms.The f i r s t instrumented rocket w as launched by Dr . Robe r t H .Goddard on July 17 , 1929. Its instruments consisted of a barometer anda thermometer with a smallcamera focused to record their readings atmaximum alt i tude.O n October 4, 1957, th e Soviet Union put the first man-madesatellite, Sputnik I, into orbit. O n January 3 1, 1958, th e United Stateslaunched its first satellite, Explorer I.T he world then entered the Age of Space.

American Rocket Society members ground test a liqudfuel rocket in 1935.

Delta launch vehicle carrying TIROSIII meteoroogical satellite rises fromlaunch pad at Cape Canaveral, Flor-ida. July 12, 1961.Blockhouse 34, Cape Canaveral, Flor-ida, during first flight test of 1.5-mil-lion-pound-thrustSaturn, October 27,1961.


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'THE SOLAR SYSTEM

\'K ? JUPITER ' * .

URANUS

S A T U R N

NEPTUNE

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The solar system man hopes to explore is tiny in relation to theuniverse as a whole, but it is an area of tremendous magnitude in Earthterms. Its primary, our Sun, is a star located at the center of the systemwith nine planets revolving around it in near-circular orbits. Some ofthe planets, l ike Earth, have natural satellites of their own (Jupiter hastwelve), and there are thousands of other bodies moving within thesystem.

The planets are held in their orbits by the Sun's gravity. They allmove in the same direction around the Sun and their orbits lie in nearlythe same plane, with Pluto the exception. Their orbital speeds are highernear the Sun. Mercury, the planet nearest the Sun, makes a circuit in88 days. Earth's period of revolution is 365 V A days. Distant Pluto, morethan three and a half billion miles from the Sun takes 248 Earth yearsto make one circuit.THE SUN

The Sun represents more than 99 per cent of the total mass of thesolar system. Its mass is 330,000 times that of Earth's and its volumemore than a mil l ion times greater. The surface temperature of the Sunis about 10,300 degrees F. and the temperature at the interior some50 millions of degrees F.

Every eleven years, the number of dark spots on the solar surface,called sun spots, reaches a m a x i m u m . These spots show strong magneticfields. During the m a x i m u m of a sun spot period, the Sun shows markedactivity in shorter "wavelengths"X-rays and ultraviolet radiation.

Frequent solar eruptions and solar flares occur. These produce definiteeffects on Earth, such as ionospheric disturbances, magnetic storms,interruptions of radio communications, u n u s u a l auroral displays and alowering of the average cosmic ray intensity. Giant solar flares are ahazard to manned space exploration in that they may subject man todangerously lethal doses of radiation. These major flares can be charted,however, and probably avoided.THE EARTH

The Earth is fif th in size among the nine planets. It has a diameterof 7,927 miles at the equator and 7,900 miles at the poles. The Earth'scircumference is about 25,000 miles and it has an area of approximately196,950,000 square miles. It travels around the Sun an average speedof 18.52 miles per second.

L i f e on Earth is sustained by the light and the heat of the Sun.Earth's weather and even its atmospheric conditions are greatly affectedby solar energy.

Atmospheric pressure at the surface of the Earth amounts to aboutone ton per square foot. This pressure decreases as the altitude increases.Thus, 99 per cent of the atmosphere lies below 20 miles and all butone-millionth of the atmosphere lies below 60 miles.

Although there is no exact or recognized boundary, this fact hasled many space scientists and space writers to place the beginning ofspaceas far as Earth is concernedat 60 miles above the Earth'ssurface.


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THE MOONThe M oon is a satel li te of the E arth and revolves about E arth fromwest to east every 27 days, 7 hours and 43 minutes. It accompaniesEar th on its annual revolution about th e Sun. T h e Moon's distance fromE arth varies from 221,463 miles when the M oon is at perigee (nearestto the Ear th ) to 252,710 miles when th e Moon is at apogee (farthestfrom the E arth). T he mean distance is 238,857 miles.T he Moon is 2,160 miles in diameter. It s mass is about one-eightieth that of Ear th and its volume one-forty-ninth. T he area of theMoon is about one-fourth the surface of the E arth and i ts circumferenceabout 6,800 miles.M oon's orbit aroun d E arth is an ellipse and its orbital speed aver-ages 2,287 miles per hour. It travels faster near perigee and slower nearapogee. Because it rotates in exactly the same length of time as it takesto revolve about Earth, the Moon always presents i ts same side towardE arth. To all intents and purposes the M oon has no atmosphere andprobably never did have.T h e Moon ha s definite mountain ranges an d m a n y of its areas ar ecovered with closely ranged peaks. M any of these tower 20,000 feet highand some rise to nearly 30,000 feet . On the side visible to Earth, theMoon has about 30,000 craters of varying depths, probably causedby meteors.Ear l y day astronomers tho ugh t that certain dark areas of theMoon were covered with water and named them seas and oceans.Actual ly, the Moon has had no trace of water within historical time andmost astronomers believe that it is covered by a layer of dust .From the scientific standp oint, exploration of the M oon is of greatimportance. Having ne ither wind nor rain nor significant moun tain-building activity, th e Moon's surface is almost changeless. Thus, th eMoon offers an opportunity to study the matter of the solar systempractically as it was billions of years ago. Such study may help answersome of the key questions of sciencehow was the solar system created;how did it develop; how did life originate?

THE PLANETSThe planets of the solar system, in order of distance from the Sun,are Me rc ury , Ve nus , Ear th , Mars , Ju p i t e r , S a t u r n, U r a n u s , N e p t u n ean d Pluto .O f these , space explorers are most interested in Venus and M ars,again because t h ey are closest and because we know more about them.T he orbit of M a r s is, of course , outside that of E a r t h . A t mostfavorable opposit ion. M ars is just over 3 4 million miles away (as com-pared to the 221,463 miles which separate the E arth and the M oon atmost favorable opposit ion).M a r s and the E ar th m ove about the Sun in the same direction bu t

no t at the same speed or distance. M ars makes one revolution about th eSun in 687 E arth days, while the E arth makes the same tr ip in 36514days. M ars has a diameter of 4,140 miles, a l i t t le more th an half t hatof E arth w hile its mass is only 0.1078 that of the Earth.M ars has an atmosphere but not one in which man could live. Ithas been compared to Earth's at an altitude of 56,000 feet . At theM ar t ian equator th e temperature ranges from 5 0 degrees F. above zeroat noon to about 90 degrees F. below zero at night .Mars is frequently called the red and green planet because to thenaked ey e Mars appears as a dot of pale red. Through a telescope Ma rsis ordinarily a reddish disc. At certain seasons of the M artian year greenareas appear. These may or may not be green vegetation conforming toseasonal changes. A fter several mo nths the green sh ades change toyellow and finally into chocolate brown.If these colors actually denote ve getation, most scientists believe itto be some kind of lichen which can grow in very little soil, live on am i n i m u m of moisture and withstand extreme cold.Most E arth scientists believe there is some f orm of prim itive plantlife on M a r s bu t discourage an y speculation about little green men.DESERT OK GREENHOUSE?

The orbit of Venus, inside that of the E arth, at t imes brings thecloud covered planet to within 26 million miles, nearer to the E arththan any of the other planets.Venus has a diameter of 7,610 m iles or just about 3 17 miles smallerthan the E arth. I ts mass is 82 per cent of the E arth 's and i ts surfacegravity 86 per cent of Earth's.Venus has an atmosphere , but one so dense i t completely preventsEarth from gett ing any view of the actual surface. This atmosphere isbelieved to be about 200 miles deep and is in the form of white clouds,composed largely of carbon dioxide with probably some nitrogen. Thereis no free oxygen or water vapor.On the surf ace of Venus the day, tempe rature is about 150 degreesF. while that of the dark or night side is a little below zero. V e n u srotates slow ly. Its day is believed to be 15 to 30 E arth days. V enu s orbitsthe Sun in 225 Earth days.T h e r e are two prevail ing theories about life on Venus. Onethemost widely heldis that since there is no trace of water vapor or w aterin the atmosphere of Venus it may be a dry and barren desert.T he second theory is that the carbon dioxide atmosphere seen fromE arth may b e a shell around the planet and that under this shell theremay be an atmosphere containing both water and oxygen. This couldm ake Ve nus a veri table global greenhous ew arm and wet with at leastth e possibility of luxuriant vegetable growth. 13


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ckopter TVSPACE PROBES AND SATELLITES-GENERAL PRINCIPLES

14

MOTION OF BODIES IN SPACEA ny man-made vehicle launched into space will move in accord-ance with the same laws that govern the motions of the planets aboutthe Sun, and the Moon about the E arth.Prior to the time of C opernicus, man gene rally accepted the beliefthat the E arth was the center of the solar system. His efforts to explainth e motion of the planets on this assumption failed. C opernicus pointedou t tha t th e difficulties in explaining th e planetary movem ent observa-tions disappeared if one assumed that the S un was the center of the solarsystem, and that the planets revolved about the Sun.Years later, Galileo took up the defense of C opernicus ' theory.W ith experiments such as the dropping of two different size masses fromthe Leaning Tower of Pisa, he started the th inking which led to ourcurrent understanding of the laws of motion.In th e early 17th century, Johannes Kepler form ulated three lawswhich described the motions of the planets about the Sun. They are:1. Each planet revolves about the Sun in an orbit that is an ellipse,with the Sun at one focus of the orbital ellipse.2. Th e line from the center of the S un to the ce nter of a planet(called the ra dius vector) sweeps out equal areas in equal periods of time.3. Th e square of a planet's period of re volution is proportional toth e cube of its mean distance from the Sun.

These laws, together with Sir Isaac Newton's law of gravitation,are important to space research. T hey m ake it possible to deduce mathe-matically the motions of the planets and other bodies in the solar systemand to calculate flight paths to these bodies.GRAVITYNe w ton (in addition to his laws of motion) formulated the law ofgravitation, which is concerned with the m utu al attraction, or "pull",that exists between all particles of matter. In its most simple form,Newton's law says this:

AH bodies, from the largest star in the universe to the smallest par-ticle of matter, attract each other with wh at is called a gravitational pull.T he strength of their gravitational pull is dependent upon theirmasses.T he closer tw o bodies are to each other, th e greater their mutual

attraction. Specifically, the attraction varies inversely as the square ofth e distance between the two bodies.Ear th , a body moving in space, has a gravitational pull. It pulls any-th ing with in its sphere of influence toward th e center of the Earth atincreasing speed. This acceleration of gravity on Ear th at its surface isused as a basic measi rement. It is kn o wn as one gravity or one "g".Ear th ' s gravitational influence is believed to extend throughout th euniverse , al though th e force weak en s with distance an d becomes virtu-ally impossible to measure.A ny vehicle moving in space is subject to gravity. T he vehicle, hav-ing mass, is itself a space body. Th erefore it attracts and is attracted byall other space bodies , although th e degree of attraction of distant bodiesis too small to require cons ideration. A vehicle moving between the Earthan d th e Moon would be influenced by both bodies, and also by the Sun.SATELLITES AND SPACE PROBESM an's activities in the field of space exploration have been con-fined thus far to space probes an d satellites.A space probe has come to be k n o wn as any vehicle launched intospace wh ich does not and is not intende d to achieve M oon or planetaryorbit. (It may fall into S un orbit.) It is an instrumented vehicle launchedinto space for the p urpose of obtaini ng new knowledge through the in-struments it carries.Sometimes the aim of such a probe is simply to make measurementsor gather data of any kind deep in space and without any particularreference to any celestial body such as the Moon or a planet. In suchcases it is sufficient to simply project th e object into space at speed greatenough to achieve the distanc e desired. In other instances, it may bedesired to project the space probe close to the Moon or Venus, for ex-ample. I n such cases exact guidance and timing requirem ents must bemet. Velocity requirements vary fo r different missions.A satellite is an attend ant body which revolves about another body,usually with reference to the solar system. (Thebody revolved about isknow n as the primary.) Up until the last decade the term had been usedalmost exc lusively in reference to natu ral celestial bodies, such as theMoon revolving about the E arth. Since 1957 it has also come to meana man-made body placed in orbit around the Earth or around any othercelestial bodyand in such case is an artificial satellite.A n artificial satellite ot the E arth, for exam ple, is simply a man-made M oon. In revolving about the E arth it must obey the same lawsthat the natural Moon does, and that the planets obey in revolvingabout theSun.WHAT KEEPS A SATELLITE UPA ny satellite, w hethe r natural or artificial remain s in orbit throughthe .action of two physical phenomenagravity an d centrifugal force.


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To understand more com pletely these two phenom ena, t ry a verysimple experiment.Fasten a weight on the end of a string, hold the string in your handan d swing th e w e ight .W he n the weight has reached "orbital" speed it will stretch the 'string in a straight line from your hand .The weight is held in its orbital position by the centrifugal forcecreated by the s winging motion. The string duplicates the pull of gravityfrom the center of Earth.If th e str ing breaks th e weight will fly outward in a straight line. Ifyou slow the sw inging motion the weigh t will tend to fall back towardyour hand, which represents the center of gravity.The Ear th itself is a satellite of the Sun. The Earth is held in i tsposition orbiting the Sun by the same two forces as the weight on thestr ingthe pull of the S un's gravity and the centr i fugal force of Earth ' scircling speed, about 18.5 miles pe r second.This speed creates a centrifugal force wh ich, for all practical pur-poses, exactly equals the pull of gravity from the Sun.Thus, it is held in constant orbital position. If the Sun's gravity

should increase , E arth would be pulled into it. If the Earth's speed shouldincrease it would fly away from the Sun.A man-made satellite around any cosmic body is in exactly thesame physical si tuation as Ear th in relation to the Sun or as the weighton the string. Its speed in orbit creates sufficient centrifugal force to with-stand the pull of gravity from the primary and thus keeps i t "up".LAUNCHING A SATELLITE INTO ORBITTo place a sate llite in orbit it is necessary to accelerate the vehicleto orbital velocity. Th is velocity, of course, provides the ce ntrifug al forcewh i ch counteracts the g ravitat ional at traction of the E arth (See Figure 1).

Since this gravitational attraction decreases with the distance fromits center of gravity (the E arth in case of an E arth orbit) a differentorbital velocity is required for each distance from the primary.In every case, th e velocity must produce th e amount of centrifugalforce needed to balance the pul l of gravity.For a satellite relatively close to Ear th , around 20 0 miles, th evelocity required is about 18,000 miles pe r hour .A vehicle placed in orbit as far away as the M oon (roughly 240,000If Earth's gravity suddenly vanished, object would follow straight line path into space.Object will be pulled back to Earth along thspath if gravita-tional attraction exceeds centrifugal force of object.Orbit of satellite which will be circular only if the launchingvelocity and angle are precisely correct for a given altitudeabove the Earth; otherwise an elliptica orbt will result.

miles) would need only to have an orbital velocity of about 2,000 milesan hour .This does not m e an that th e far-ou t orbit would be easier. Consider-able additional force must be used to push a satellite out to that distance.It is virtually impossible to launch a satellite into an exactly circu-lar orbit. (Forone reason th e E a r t h is not precisely circular .) U sually,

their paths are elongated circles or ell ipses. T h e perigee (distance nearestth e Ear th ) may be only a hundre d or so miles while th e apogee (distancefarthest from the Earth) may be several thousand miles in some of themore exaggerated ellipses.A satellite launched into an orbit parallel to and 22,300 miles overth e equator is termed "synchronous," "fixed," or "stationary." This satel-lite will take about 24 hours to complete one trip around th e world, th esame t ime the Earth takes for one full rotation on its axis. Therefore,th e satellite remains fixed more or less over one spot on Ear th . T o aground observer, th e satellite would appear to stand still.ESCAPE VELOCITYAny space probe or satellite launched on a space exploration mis-sion must achieve escape velocity, that is, m ust overcome th e pul l ofEarth's gravity. This is done by accelerating th e vehicle to a given speed.Since th e force of Earth ' s gravity declines with distance from th e centerof Earth (as noted before) th e minim um speed required to overcomegravity varies.At o r near th e Earth's surface, th e speed required to overcomegravity is sl ightly more than seven miles a second or 25,000 miles an


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ho ur . At an altitude of 500 miles from th e surface, th e speed require-ment drops to 23,600 miles an hour and at an altitude of 5,000 miles itis only 16,630 miles an hour.The minim um speed at which an object overcomes gravity is knownas "escape velocity".Imagine a rocket leaving the surface of the E arth. I t f l ies away fromEar th at a gradually decreasing speed unti l th e force of Earth's gravitysucceeds in pulling it back to Earth.T he rocket we are imagining follows an elongated path which is

16

BP BBB Paraboic path folowed by probe reaching escape velocity(from surface of Earth 25,000 miles per hour).Elliptical paths folowed by probes not reaching escapevelocity.

part of an ellipse. Increasing the velocity of the spacecraft causes theelliptical path to become more and more elongated and the spacecrafttravels farther into space.If the velocity reaches 25,000 miles an hour, the ellipse never closesitself. Instead, it extends on out to infinity and the spacecraft ha s com-pletely escaped from th e Earth's gravitational power. (See figure 2.)Actually, the gravitational field of the E arth is not ended. T h i s fieldis permanent and extends to infinity, an d will continue to do so as longas the mass known as Earth remains. However, strength of this field does

decrease with distance, as we have said. Thus, if the space vehicle isgiven a great enough initial momentum, even though i t st i l l feels theeffect of lessening gravity, it will continue outward never to return.

This is somewhat analogous to rolling a ball up a smooth, friction-less hill whose slope is continuously decreasing. (The slope of the hil lcompares to the force of gravity.) If the ball is not rolled fast enough, itwill gradually slow until its velocity is exhausted. At this point it willmome ntarily pause before rolling back down hill , arriving at the bottomat the same velocity at wh i ch it left. There are several ways to succeedin getting the ball up the hill: (I) throw it with greater initial force; (2)carry it part way up the hillside before throwing: or (3) apply continualforce until the top is reached.Similarlyin space exploration a vehicle may be launched intospace by application of the same p rinciple s men tioned above. A s in (1)w e ca n provide sufficient initial t h rus t to accelerate a rocket to 25,000miles an hour, total escape velocity. It is possible to do this with a singlestage vehicle if we provide it with sufficient power to give it the thrustnecessary before burn out.The second method (2) involves using somemethod to get the vehicle through the lower atmosphere while reservingadditional thrust for later stages of the flight through the upper and lessdense atmosphere and into space. Thi s h ad been done by using a balloonas a launch platform. That is, the balloon carries th e space vehiclethrough th e lower atmosphere before launching. It is also possible touse an aircraft to achieve this initial alt i tude as in the X-15 which islaunched from a B-52 aircraft . Normally, however, this f i rst thrustthrough the atmosphere is accomplished by using another rocket. T hethird method of the analogy (3)that of app lying continual powerispossible but not efficient with present propulsion systems.Spacecraft launching s today are, as we said, usual ly accomplishedby th e second method. Two o r more rockets are placed on top of eachother and constructed so that th e stages fire in sequence. T he velocityincreases because each succ eeding rocket before firing is travelling withthe velocity achieved by the preceding stage. In addition, the gravita-tional attraction is less because of the altitu de already reached by theearlier stages. Lack of drag from atm osphe r ic friction at h igh alt itudesalso provides an advantage.


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r "VUNMANNED SATELLITES ANDSOUNDING ROCKETS

This chapter describes other space programs in which satellites an dsounding rockets are employed to increase knowledge about th e Earthan d its cosmic environment an d about th e universe. In the few shortyears since orbiting of the first artificial satellite, man has gained fromhis satellites an d sounding rockets new and often startling knowledgeabout Ear th and the portion of space wh i ch surrounds it. A m o n g thesefindings are: Discovery o f the two intense V an Allen R adiat ion Zones in spacearound th e Earth .

Determinat ion that the E a r t h is pear-shaped with the stem endat the N o r t h Pole, and not a sphere flattened at the poles. Verif icat ion of a theory tha t sunligh t exerts pressure. Map p i n g of the magnet ic fields girdl ing th e Ear t h . Increased understanding of the effects of solar events on theupper atmosphere.A resume of United States programs for the exploration an d prac-tical utilization of space by means of unmanned inst rumented satel l i tesan d sounding rockets is presented below.

SCIENTIFIC SATELLITES AND SOUNDING ROCKETSE X P L O R E R E x p l o r e r 1, l au n ch ed on J a n u a r y 31 , 1958, startedth e space age for the United States. It was the first U.S. satel l i te launchedinto orbit. Its launch vehicle was a modified Redstone with upper stages.

It carried a payload of 30.8 pounds designed to check cosmic rays, micro-meteoroids and tem perature. E xplorer made what i s usually recognizedas the most important discovery of the Internat iona l Geoph ysical Yearthe first or lower Va n Allen Radiat ion Zone. Succeeding Explorers f u r -nished information on micrometeorords, temperatures in space, radia-tion an d magnetic storms, ion and electron composition of the ionosphere,bchuvior of energet ic par t icles , gumma rays st reaming ear thward fromthe Sun and other cosmic sources ; they mapped the Van Alle n Radiat ionZones and the Ear t h ' s m ag n et i c f ie lds; and indicated tha t part of theinterplanetary magnet ic f ield near the E ar th may be an extension of theSun's magnet ic field.V A N G U A R D Pr o jec t V an g u ar d was i n au g u r a t ed as p ar t o f th eAmerican program for the I G Y . Th e f i r s t V an g u ar d satellite went intoorbi t on M arch 17, 1958, reaching an apogee (highe st point) of 2,453miles and a perigee (lowest point) of 409 miles. Its scientific payloadweighed 3(4 pounds and returne d geodet ic observat ions including th e

Contours of Explorer satellites are aboutasdiverseastheir missions:Explorer X (above) to acquire data onmagnetic fields in space. (LaunchedMarch 25, 1961.)Explorer XII (top right) to gather dataon radiation and magnetic fields Inspace. (Artist's conception) (LaunchedAugust 16,1961.)Explorer XIII (bottom right) to obtaindata on micrometeoroids (cosmicdust).(Artist's conception) (Launched August25, 1961.)

determinat ion that the E ar th was sl ight ly pear -shaped. Vang uard I isstill in orbit and is expected to be for the next several hundred years .O ne t ransmit ter , powered by solar cells, ha s cont inued to send signals.T he second V an g u ar d wa s launched in February, 1959, wi th a pay-load of 2 0 - V i pounds for weather data col lect ion. The th i rd Vanguard,launched September , 1959, carr ied 5 0 pounds of inst ruments an d pro-vided a comprehensive survey of the Earth 's magnet ic field, detailedlocation data on the lower edge of the Van Allen Radiat ion Zones, an dcount of microm eteo roid impacts .I N T E R N A T I O N A L IONOSPHERE SATELLITESThese satel-lites are a series in the U.S. I n t e r n a t i o n a l P r o g r am . Ex p e r i m en t spre-pared by foreign scientists will be carr ied in U.S . vehicles . E xper imentsfor the first la unc h ing were selected by United Kingdom scient ists whoar e building the exper imental devices. I t will be inst rum ented to deter - 17


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18

Model of United Kingdomsatellite to be launchedby N A S A for intensivestudy of ionosphere.

mine electron densit ies and measure solar radiation. A second U.K.-U.S.satel li te is underwa y. A joint U.S .-Canada project , the swept-frequ encytopside sounder, designated Alouette , will apply the radio-echo tech niqueto the upper portions of the ionosphere . T he instrum entation is beingbuilt by the Ca nadians with the U.S. furnishing the launch vehicle .STANDARDIZED S A T E L L I T E S S e v e r a l types of standardizedsatellites are being developed, including the orbiting solar, astronomical,

and geophysical observatories.The standardized satel l i te is a basic structure , complete with powersupply, te lemetry, data storage facilities and other fundamental equip-ment. It s modular compartments will be capable of carrying many differ-ent e xperiments on any one mission. Thu s far , U.S. satel li tes have beencustom des igned and custom b uilt, each for its own mission. This h asbeen necessary due to the nu mbe r of launch vehicles employed and theembryonic state of space science and technology. Th is new approacha standardized vehicle capable of pe r form ing m any different missionsis intended to save both t ime and money. E ach of the standardizedsatellite's modules will be a simple , plugg ed-in electronic bu ilding block.Th us the s tructure can be fabricated independently, with any experimentdesigned to fit one or more modules.Orbiting Astronomical Observatory (OAO)Man' s s tudy of theuniverse has been narrowly circumscribed because the atmosphere blocksmuch radiation from space and distorts that which reaches Earth. O A Owill make i t possible to observe the universe from a vantage point abovethe shimmering haze of the atmosphere .O A O will see celestial bodies shining steadily against a b lack back-ground. I t will clearly delineate features wh ich from the E arth are ei therfuzzy or indist inguishable . A stronomers predict that O AO will furnish awealth of new knowledge about th e solar system, stars, an d compositionof space.O A O will be a precisely stabilized 3,200-pound s atellite in a cir-cular orbit about 47 5 miles above th e E a r t h . It will carry about 1,000

pounds of experimental equipment such as telescopes, spectrometers,and photometers. The scientific e quipm e nt will be suppl i e d NASA byleading astronomers.The s t andardiz e d OA O she l l, w hic h will be employed for manydifferent types of missions, will contain stabil ization, power, an d telem-etry systems. T w o silicon solar-cell paddles an d nickel-cadmium bat-teries will furnish a minim um average usable power supply of 270 watts.The height of the satel li te is about 9% feet with sun shade down.Th e sate llite is about 16.2 feet wide with solar paddles extended. Shellwidth is about 6. 6 feet.

Orbiting Solar Observatory (OSO)OSO is a series of satellitesintended for intensive study of the Sun and solar phenom ena f rom apoint above the disruptive effects of the atmosphere . The observatorywill carry such instruments as X-ray and Lyman A lpha spectrometers,neutron flux sensors, and g a m m a ray monitors. Like OAO, O S O scien-tific equipment will be supplied NASA by leading astronomers.

Orbiting AstronomicalObservatory (O A O )

Orbiting GeophysicalObservatory (OGO)

Orbiting Soar Observatory (OSO)


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Ear l y OSO sat e l l i t e s will be about 37 inches high, 44 inches indiameter at the wheel-shaped section, and weigh about 350 pounds.O S O will be launched into a circular orbit about 30 0 miles above th eEar th . Pow e r supply will originate from solar cel ls and nickel-cadmiumbatteries.O rbiting Geophysical Observatory (OGO)OGO is a standardizedsatellite that can carry 50 different geophysical experiments on a singlemission. Scientific instruments ma y vary from mission to mission bu tthe basic satel l i te structure will be the same.O G O will be launched on a regu lar schedule into preassigned trajec-tories. Wh en launc hed into an eccentric orbit (perigee about 150 miles,apogee about 60,000 miles), O G O becomes E G O (E ccentric GeophysicalObse rvatory) . EGO will study energetic part icles, magnetic f ie lds, andother geophys ical phenomena req uiring such an orbit.W hen launched into a low- altitude polar orbit (apogee about 5 00miles, perigee about 140 miles) O G O i s POGO (Polar O rbiting Geo-physical Observatory). In this orbit, it will be instrumented chiefly fo rstudy of the atmosphere and ionosphere , part icularly over the poles.O G O will be about six feet long and three feet square , excludingsolar paddles, and weigh about 900 pounds, including 150 pounds ofinst ruments. Later versions may we igh about 1,500 pounds and include aspherical piggy-back satel l ite . C ertain expe rimental sensors will be placedon booms extending from O GO because they might be affected by thesatellite's body. Solar cells and nick el-ca dmiu m batteries will providean average power supply of 50 watts.D I S C O V E R E R (U.S. A IR F O R C E ) U s i n g a Thor-Agena booster ,the first Discoverer wa s launched February 28 , 1959 with a 245 -poundinst rument payload. It was the first U.S. satellite to be placed in polarorbit, that is, it circled the E arth at the poles instead of the eq uator.The next six Discoverers were launched with the primary missionof test ing experimental techniques for space cabin recovery either at seaor in mid-air . The firs t such recoveryby a ship-helicopter team at seawas accomplished on August 11, 1960 from Discoverer XII whichhad been launched the day before .The firs t mid-air recovery was Discoverer XIV at 8,000 feet by aC-l 19 aircraft 36 0 miles southwest of Hawaii on A u g u s t 18, 1960. T hereentry ve hicle weighed 300 pounds and was ejected from the satelliteby a t iming device. It s descent w as slowed by retrorocket an d parachute .In addition to checking recovery techniques th e Discoverer satel-lites carried devices to gather data on propulsion, communications andorbital performance. Several other e jected pa y loads have been recoveredin mid-air . Discoverer XXI, launched in February, 1961, achieved thefirst successful s tart of an engine (the Agena) in space.Discoverer satel l i tes have provided significant data on atmosphericphe nom e na and on radiation in space.

SOUNDING R O C K E T S M a n ' s firs t adventures into th e upper

Nike-Cajun Sounding Rocket

atmosphere and space were with sounding rockets. The firs t were accom-plished by the early rocket societies in several countries and more not-ably by Dr. Robert Goddard. Sounding rockets may be of one or morestages. G enerally speaking they ar e designed to attain altitudes up toabout 4,000 miles and return data by telemetry or capsule recovery.Those designed for lower altitude may simply investigate geophysicalproperties of the upper atmosphere surrounding th e Ear th . These havereturned information on atmospheric winds, th e Earth cloud cover an dth e properties of the ionosphere . Higher al t i tude sounding rockets havesent back data on cosmic rays, th e radiation belts, ultraviole t rays, solarflares and m a n y other cosmic phenomena. Literally hundreds have beenlaunched in this country and by other nations. When sounding rocketspass th e 4,000 mile al t i tude they are more normally called space probesand deep space probes depending upon the distance of the f l ight . SomeU.S. sounding rockets have been especially designed and built for thatpurpose while in other cases early missiles were combined to m ake upsounding rocket vehicles.Typical of sound ing rockets emp loyed in scientific programs are:AerobeeFirst f i red Novem ber 14, 1947, Aero bee launchings in-cluded th e solar beam experiment program to monitor backgroundradiation f rom the S un during qu iet periods of solar activity; studies ofultraviolet radiation of the stars and nebulae; gamma radiation studiesand many other scientific programs.N ikeW ith upper stages, the N ike has been employed largely inupper atmosphere experiments, the most well -known of which are thesodium vapor shots. In these, the rockets release a sodium vapor along 19


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their t rajectories w hich glows orange in twilight and can be observedfrom great distances. Purpose of these experiments is to study high-altitude winds.ArgoA rgo rockets have been u ti l ized in a number of experiments,the most spectacular of which was NE RV (Nu clear E mulsion RecoveryVehicle). O n September 19 , 1960, a four-stage Argo D-8 fired an 83.6p o u n d N E R V from Point A rguello, California, to a maximu m alti tude of1,260 miles. N E RV carried a nuclear emulsion (a photographic filmextremely sensitive to charged particles) which w as exposed during flightto record radiation particles. N E RV w as recovered in the Pacific Oceanabout 1,300 miles from Point Arguello. It s emulsion h as provided signif-icant data on radiation, particularly in the Van Allen Radiation Zones.

T E L E M E T R Y A N T E N N A S

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APPLICATIONSATELLITESECHOEcho I, orbited on A u g u s t 12 , 1960, proved that it is pos-sible to communicate between distant areas on Earth by reflecting radiomicrowaves from a man-made satellite. Echo I is fabricated of alumi-

num-vapor-coated polyester film .0005 inch thick (about half th e thick-ness of the cellophane wrapping on a cigarette package). It is 100 feetin diameter and weighs 13 2 pounds. R adio signals are literally bouncedoff th e satellite from one point on the Ear th to another.

Echo's 31,000 square feet of surface space reflected hundreds oftransmissionsincluding teletype signals, facsimile photographs, two-waytelephone conversations, transcontinental and transatlantic signal relays.Successors of Echo I will be 135 feet in diameter and have 20 t imesth e rigidity of Echo I. Each advanced Echo is made up of a laminate ofaluminum foil and polymer plastic about .00075 inch thick. It weighsabout 600 pounds.

Proect RelaySatellite (right)Nuclear EmulsionRecoveryVehicle(NERV) (left)

TWT POWER SUPPIV

R A D I A T IO N E F F E C T SRECEIVER EXCITER

DECODERRECEIVERSUB CARRIER DEMOO

RECEIVER TWT EXCITERRADIATION SENSORS

'IDE BAND A N T E N N A

RE B O UN D In P ro je c t Re bound, t h re e advanc e d Echo passivecommunications satel l ites will be orbited by a single launch veh icle . Suchmultiple sphe re l aunc hings ar e desirable because operational communi-cations systems will require m any satel l ites.T h e United States an d cooperating nations abroad will conductvarious communications experiments with the Rebound satel l i tes whichwill have circular orbits about 1,500 miles above the E arth. Th e initialorbit of E c h o I averag ed about 1,000 miles above th e Ear th .R E L A Y P r o j e c t R e l a y is NASA's p rogram for determining th efeasibility of and developing th e technology for a commu nications satel-lite system which ca n receive, amplify, an d retransmit messages. Relayis an "active-repeater" satel l ite . Unlike passive satel li tes such as Echoan d Re bound w hic h reflect signals an d have no communications equip-ment, active satellites carry receivers, transmitters, and other electronicequipment. They would serve in effect as microwave towers in the sky.A number of foreign nations plan to join with the United States incommunications experiments with the Relay satel l i te .A t first the 12 5-pound R elay satellites will be placed in ellipticalorbits ranging from 1,000 to 3,000 miles above th e Ear th . Later, th ealtitudes may be extended to 6,000 miles.In the first experiments, Re lay satell i tes will traverse the lower VanAllen Radiat ion Zone . A m ong th e objectives of Relay is to evaluate th eeffects of such radiation on communications equipment and solar cellsan d to measure radiation encountered. Barrel-shaped, Relay is 29 incheshigh and 26 inches in diameter , excluding antennas.SYN CO M Sync om i s an e xpe r im e nt e m ploying "active-repeater"satellites in "synchronous" orbits for a global communications system."Synchronous" satel l ites, orbit ing at 22,300 miles above th e equator,travel around the world in the same t ime that i t takes the E arth to rotate


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around i ts axis. Such satellites, therefore, ar e relatively stationary overone point on Ear th .The potential advantage of a "synchronous" communications satel-lite system is that fewer satellites, theoretically as little as three, areneeded fo r global coverage than if lower-altitude satellites are used.Howeve r, such h igh- altitude satellites present certain technologicaldifficulties.N A S A does no t intend to place Syncom in ? . equatorial orbit bu tin an orbit inclined about 30 degrees to the ' juator. Because of this,Syncom will travel north an d south across th e equator bu t remain f ixedmore or less about a given longitude. Later satellites of this type willbe placed in an equatorial orbit where they will appear stationary to aterrestrial observer.Syncom w eighs 55 pounds, ex cludin g the solid propellant m otorwhich will help place it in circular orbit. Syncom is 28 inches in diam-eter, 25 inches in length. Twenty watts of power will be supplied bysolar cells and nickel-cadmium batteries. T h e satellite's communicationsequipment radiates 2'/i watts of radio frequency power.TELSTARTelstar is an experimental "active-repeater" com-munications satellite developed by the A mer ican Telephone and Tele-

graph Co mpan y at its own expense. Telstar satellites will be launchedinto elliptical orbits approximate ly 600 miles from the Earth at perigeeand 3,000 miles at apogee. T h e spherically shaped 34-inch-diametersatellites will weigh about 150 pounds. In addition to comm unicationsequipment, Telstar will carry a radiation measurement experime nt.Under a cooperative agreement, NASA will provide launching and

C O MMUN IC A T IO N S ." A N T E N N A

TELSTAR AT & T Satellite (top)

Model of AdventCommunica-tions Satellite (right)

SYNCOM Active-RepeaterCommunications Satellite (left)

VERNIERROCKETS

N I T R O G E NGAS JETS

T E L E M E T R Y ,A N T E N N A S /

A PO GE E" R O C K E T M O T O F ;

SOLAR ANGLES E N S O R S

tracking facilities an d equ ipmen t an d range an d launch crew services fo rsatellites; AT&T will re imburs e NASA for all facilities, materials, an dservices; AT&T will report to NASA all experimental data and projectresults ; and NASA will make these reports available to the world tech-nical an d scientific community.ADVENTIn P ro j ec t Ad ven t , the U.S. A rmy is conducting re-search and development to demonstrate the feasibility of long-distancecommunication by "active-repeater" satellites in orbits 22,300 milesabove the equator. Because the orbital period of satellites at these alti-tudes is synchronous with th e E arth's rotation, each Adve nt satellitewould appear to be stationary more or less over a point on Earth. Threesuch satellites, spaced 12 0 degrees apart around th e equator, couldprovide virtually world-wide comm unication coverage. 21

transistors.included 4 transmitters,antennas, 4 whip antennas, a VHP diplexerT


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Courier Satellite (above) Transit IV-A Navigation Satellite (below)

space backup e quipment. I t received, stored and transmitted mesent to it from several points on Ear th , effectively proving th e feasibilityof a satel l i te communications system.C ourier had an initial apogee (m axim um altitude in orbit) of 658miles, and perigee (m inim um altitu de in orbit) of 501 miles. It ope ratedsuccessfully until October 23, 1960, when an undetermined malfunc-tion rendered it inoperative.SCOREScore, a U.S. A rmy com munications satel li te , launchedDecember 18 , 1958, accomplished the first transmittal of the hum an

voice from space. Its payload was 150 pounds of receiving, recording,and transmitt ing apparatus. A mong the messages i t recorded and relayedfrom ground stations was a 1958 U.S. P residential C hristmas mess ageto the world. Score operated successfully for the life of its chemicalbatteries (approximately 30 days).TRANSITTransit is a U.S. Navy program leading to an opera-tional satellite system for world-wide all-weather navigation. The Transitoperational sys tem, consis ting of fou r satellites in proper orbit, willprovide accurate data for navigationa l fixes to ships and aircraft thro ugh -out the world on an average of once every 1V 4 hours. Transit I -B waslaunched A pril 13, 1960, carrying a payload weigh t of 265 pounds .This included two ultra-stable oscillators, an infrared scanner, two tele-metering receivers and transmitters plus solar cells and nickel-cadmiumbatteries fo r power. Transit I- B proved th e feasibility of an all-weathernavigation satellite system.T he launch of Transit I I -A , on June 22 , 1960, was the first U.S.experiment to put two payloads in orbit simultaneously. T h e satelliteswere attached to each other an d separated by a spring, just after goinginto orbit. Data from Transit I I -A were used in a continuing geodeticstudy program.Transit III- B, launche d February 21, 1961, was the first satellite inthe Transit program to include as part of i ts instrumentation a mem orysystem. (A m emory system enables T ransit to receive information on itsorbital parameters [orbital path data] from an injection station and togive this information to ships or aircraf t for use in com puting theirlocations.) Tests with the Transit I I I -B me mory system proved the feasi-bility of injecting data into and recovering data from the satellite.Transit IV-A, l aunc he d June 29 , 1961, carried the first nuclear

power system into space, a SNA P (System for Nu clear A uxil iary Pro-pulsion) type generator . This SNAP generator , shaped like a slightly


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Documents

Space the New Frontier 1962